''The Sunken Billions'' is a study jointly published in 2008 by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

and by the

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

(FAO). The report shows that the difference between the potential and actual net economic benefits from marine fisheries is about USD 50 billion per year or some USD 2 trillion over the last three decades. According to the report “by improving governance of marine fisheries, society could capture a substantial part of this $50 billion annual economic loss. Through comprehensive reform, the fisheries sector could become a basis for economic growth and the creation of alternative livelihoods in many countries. At the same time, a nation’s

natural capital Natural capital is the world's stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms. Some natural capital assets provide people with free goods and services, often called ecosystem services. All of t ...

in the form of fish stocks could be greatly increased and the negative impacts of the fisheries on the marine environment reduced.” If fish stock were rebuilt, the current marine catch could be achieved with approximately half of the current global fishing effort. This illustrates the massive overcapacity of the global fleet. The excess competition over the limited fish resources results in declining productivity, economic inefficiency, and depressed fisher incomes.

References

* Arnason R, Kelleher K and Willmann R (2008
''The Sunken Billions: The Economic Justification for Fisheries Reform''
Joint publication of the

and the FAO. .
FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

External links

World Bank - Fisheries and Aquaculture

FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department

Presentation material from the speakers at Conference on Green Fishing Technologies and Solutions - October 7th, 2009 Aalborg, Denmark

The Sunken Billions Summary on www.illegal-fishing.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunken Billions Fisheries science 2008 works